Since the start of the pandemic, there’s been an endless parade of shills pushing magical disinfecting solutions
Here’s one of the latest: SterilizekPRO complete with astonishing claims and reviews of dubious authenticity. But this is just one of the thousands of miracle products being hawked in the form of sprayers, foggers, magical filters, and the like.
Countertops Are Not the Problem
But here’s the deal. Your rooms aren’t diseased…it’s the people IN the rooms are walking around breathing virus into the air.
Basic surface cleaning is definitely useful and should be done. The virus can remain in an activated state for several hours to a couple of days, especially if an infected person has been heavily coughing on the furniture.
But if you’ve got someone infected with Covid who’s heavily coughing in your house or in the office, the virus on the door handles are the LEAST of your worries.
The primary risk of infection remains airborne transmission in enclosed spaces with poor outside ventilation where’s there an inability to maintain distance.
Simply being cognizant of not touching your face and regularly washing your hands will provide the best defense against surface transmission.
But disinfecting rooms will offer little protection. If there’s an infected person in the space, a dose of the virus is being breathed into the air continuously at the rate of about 1000 breaths-per-hour.
Magical HEPA Filters
The other device of dubious value are all the magical electronical electrostatical HEPA filters without endlessly dubious claims.
HEPA filters are useful and it probably makes sense to have one in your home or office. But they will do little to prevent airborne transmission. Unless you’re in a hurricane room, the rate of air replacement through the filters is not sufficient to protect you from airborne transmission.
Where such filters CAN play a role is in isolating separate spaces within a building. But most HVAC systems place the filters at the air intakes and not the air outlets, reducing the effectiveness of this approach.
The Basics Still Work Best
There are no magic bullets to protect you from indoor transmission. Doing a good job with the basics remain your best option:
Wear a mask
Distance
Don’t touch your face
Wash your hands
Most of the biotech companies I work with are quite cognizant of the risks and have done a good job of minimizing outbreaks at their facilities. They generally follow this approach:
Work remotely when possible (not always possible with laboratory staff)
Everyone has to be masked 100% of the time
No one is allowed to eat together
Everyone works in pods (small work-teams avoiding direct contact with others)
Everyone is tested once a week
If someone tests positive, the ENTIRE work-team is quarantined
Anyone who feels ill is expected to stay home
This goes a bit beyond the basics but represents a good model that most businesses should be able to follow.
About the author:
I am a scientist with 20+ years in the biotech industry. I currently work as a consultant with companies involved in developing molecular diagnostics platforms, including some of the key testing platforms used to detect the SarsCoV2 virus.
So I bring an insider’s perspective that is scientifically oriented but directed to a general audience trying to make sense of the conflicting stories surrounding the Covid pandemic.
To learn more: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalewharrison/
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